8 ms·

Donald Trump is being powered by conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon, the "Breitbart News" head and board member of Cambridge Analytica, an analytics firm that use

Donald Trump is being powered by conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon, the "Breitbart News" head and board member of Cambridge Analytica, an analytics firm that used psychological profiling to cynically exploit the American electorate. Despite his inexperience and stated desire to "blow things up", he was appointed to an influential national security position, over the Joint Chiefs of Staff [1]. This is an existential threat to the American public and to the world. 1: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38787241 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38787241 2: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cambridge-analytica-steve-bannon-robert-rebekah-mercer-donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-white-a7435536.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cambridge-a... 3: http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/12/the-british-data-crunchers-who-say-they-helped-donald-trump-to-win/ http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/12/the-british-data-cruncher... 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Analytica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Analytica

stephancoral 10y ago
Bannon is not a founder of Breitbart, but came on after Andrew Breitbart's death. But yes, he is a terrible danger to the states. This is like a bad movie.
- facetube 10y ago
  I'm unclear on his exact relationship with "Breitbart News", but I relied on this for the "founder" statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon#Breitbart_News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon#Breitbart_News.
  - daveguy 10y ago
    The article wikipedia refers to states that Bannon was a board member from its foundation. That could be co-founder or just paid advisor or early investor.
    - facetube 10y ago
      Thanks, corrected in edit.
      - grzm 10y ago
        Just a suggestion, but you may want to include an "Edited" statement in the original comment, as this thread is a bit confusing to follow otherwise.
colordrops 10y ago
Please don't use the phrase "conspiracy theorist" as a term of disparagement or to indicate a particular bias. There are many that investigate conspiracies who have the opposite views of Bannon and are very skeptical and scientific. You are giving a tool to the unscrupulous to bury conversations by labeling their opponents "conspiracy theorists." Would you say Edward Snowden is in the same bucket at Bannon?
- smpetrey 10y ago
  What phrase would be more effective in describing Bannon?
  - shiven 10y ago
    Perhaps, 'fear-mongering, bigotry-merchant'.
  - gotchange 10y ago
    A far-right politician.
  - AnOscelot 10y ago
    neo-nazi Leninist The former term is how his detractors, including me, would describe him. The latter is a term he famously used for himself. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-bannon-trump-s-top-guy-told-me-he-was-a-leninist.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-banno...
    - GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
      That's not what Leninism means tho (it's not "smash the state" as Bannon says, it's about having a vanguard party and control of political power by the working class).
      - AnOscelot 10y ago
        I completely understand that. But it's a term he used for himself, and I think it's funny to semi-accurately (not in terms of actual definition but in terms of someone's self-description) label a member of a Republican administration as a Leninist. Though Bannon may be more accurate than he realizes about being a "Leninist" since he wants his faction to be the vanguard party with power derived from the white working class and voters who identify with such.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
MichaelBurge 10y ago
Your comment is nothing but alarmist rhetoric. I mean, each sentence is specifically engineered to be as negative-sounding as you can make it. People don't usually do that, even with actual dictators. > being powered by Donald Trump needs a supernatural explanation, presumably because you think he's incompetent. At the least, you're saying he can't do what he's doing by himself. > conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon The term "conspiracy theory" is supposed to discredit him. But, if he has trouble telling truth from reality, why is he enabling Donald Trump? People who make mistakes interpreting data lose elections. > board member of Cambridge Analytica, an analytics firm that used psychological profiling to cynically exploit the American electorate. It's called "marketing", and everyone here does it. Nothing wrong with it. Again, how's a "conspiracy theorist" going to exploit psychological profiling? They're supposed to see patterns where none exist, which means whatever analytics they're doing would be ineffective. > This is an existential threat to the American public and to the world You haven't actually described anything that could be an "existential threat". Examples include: Nuclear war, a large asteroid, an incurable highly contagious disease, etc. You can only call him an "existential threat" if you believe America and the world will literally stop existing in 4-8 years. You did say it right after a comment about being appointed to a "national security" position. I imagine many people on HN get triggered by the phrase "national security", getting flashbacks to George Bush and the Patriot Act. If you think politicians have been abusing the term "national security" to push their bad policies, you should welcome the position being effectively removed from the President's advisory. Nothing you've presented is really bad, so I'm not really sure how to respond to the facts. People might be interested in Stefan Molyneux's "The Untruth about Steve Bannon" video[1], though. He's not as bad as people are making him out to be. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0aAVh0dJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0aAVh0dJc
- tptacek 10y ago
  His comment is rhetorically partisan, but you haven't come close to establishing with evidence that it's "alarmist". I'd direct your attention to Eliot Cohen's essay in The Atlantic from this morning: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clarifying-moment-in-american-history/514868/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clari... Cohen is no liberal; he cofounded PNAC and served as a deputy under Rice in the Bush administration. And his take on Trump's last week is even more urgent than the parent comment's. It is in fact not normal at all for the President's "chief strategist" --- an informal, non-confirmable role, created to house someone who stood a decent chance of washing out of Senate confirmation --- to replace the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence on the NSC PC. Someone watching this unfold dispassionately might be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that Bannon is there because he doesn't trust Trump alone in a room by himself with a bunch of actual adults; Trump is, as has been reported for over a decade, famously impressionable.
anjc 10y ago
This is a bizarre and inflammatory conspiracy theory in itself. A politician using an analytics firm that uses psychological profiling...welcome to the 20th century.
- facetube 10y ago
  I agree, but I believe it is well-sourced.
  - anjc 10y ago
    My point is that corporations don't start product development for even a bar of candy without extensive market segmentation and psychological profiling. This is completely run of the mill stuff in this day and age, and you can be certain that every major party in the western world does the exact same thing. OP is presenting it as if it's an unusual affront to democracy. It's extremely disingenuous or extremely ignorant, I'm not sure which.
    - facetube 10y ago
      It is an unusual affront to democracy. Democracy depends upon a well-informaed public making rational decisions. It cannot and should not be gamed by for-profit "market makers" at the expense of the American taxpayer and the American people.
      - anjc 10y ago
        This is completely normal in politics and commerce. And regardless, he was elected in a fair vote. The end. If you run another election now he'll win again.
        facetube 10y ago
        US intelligence officials have evidence of Russian disinformation and interference [1]. This is not normal. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ODNI_Statement_on_Declassified_Intelligence_Community_Assessment_of_Russian_Activities_and_Intentions_in_Recent_U.S._Elections.pdf&page=7 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ODNI_Stateme...
jmcgough 10y ago
"Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach," Rogin reported, citing transition officials. He "is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe." [1] I find this terrifying, that an untested extremist is the one in charge of our entire foreign policy approach, and that his goal is greater militarization and igniting populism. Not going to invoke Godwin's Law, but I think the parallels are obvious. [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-security-council-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-s...
- astronautjones 10y ago
  Estamos jodidos
andreyf 10y ago
CNN also reports that Bannon feels free to over-rule DHS legal counsel on constitutionally questionable immigration actions as part of their PR strategy [1]. 1. http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-b...

stephancoral 10y ago

Bannon is not a founder of Breitbart, but came on after Andrew Breitbart's death. But yes, he is a terrible danger to the states. This is like a bad movie.

facetube 10y ago
I'm unclear on his exact relationship with "Breitbart News", but I relied on this for the "founder" statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon#Breitbart_News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon#Breitbart_News.
- daveguy 10y ago
  The article wikipedia refers to states that Bannon was a board member from its foundation. That could be co-founder or just paid advisor or early investor.
  - facetube 10y ago
    Thanks, corrected in edit.
    - grzm 10y ago
      Just a suggestion, but you may want to include an "Edited" statement in the original comment, as this thread is a bit confusing to follow otherwise.

colordrops 10y ago

Please don't use the phrase "conspiracy theorist" as a term of disparagement or to indicate a particular bias. There are many that investigate conspiracies who have the opposite views of Bannon and are very skeptical and scientific. You are giving a tool to the unscrupulous to bury conversations by labeling their opponents "conspiracy theorists." Would you say Edward Snowden is in the same bucket at Bannon?

smpetrey 10y ago
What phrase would be more effective in describing Bannon?
- shiven 10y ago
  Perhaps, 'fear-mongering, bigotry-merchant'.
- gotchange 10y ago
  A far-right politician.
- AnOscelot 10y ago
  neo-nazi Leninist The former term is how his detractors, including me, would describe him. The latter is a term he famously used for himself. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-bannon-trump-s-top-guy-told-me-he-was-a-leninist.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/22/steve-banno...
  - GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
    That's not what Leninism means tho (it's not "smash the state" as Bannon says, it's about having a vanguard party and control of political power by the working class).
    - AnOscelot 10y ago
      I completely understand that. But it's a term he used for himself, and I think it's funny to semi-accurately (not in terms of actual definition but in terms of someone's self-description) label a member of a Republican administration as a Leninist. Though Bannon may be more accurate than he realizes about being a "Leninist" since he wants his faction to be the vanguard party with power derived from the white working class and voters who identify with such.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

MichaelBurge 10y ago

Your comment is nothing but alarmist rhetoric. I mean, each sentence is specifically engineered to be as negative-sounding as you can make it. People don't usually do that, even with actual dictators. > being powered by Donald Trump needs a supernatural explanation, presumably because you think he's incompetent. At the least, you're saying he can't do what he's doing by himself. > conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon The term "conspiracy theory" is supposed to discredit him. But, if he has trouble telling truth from reality, why is he enabling Donald Trump? People who make mistakes interpreting data lose elections. > board member of Cambridge Analytica, an analytics firm that used psychological profiling to cynically exploit the American electorate. It's called "marketing", and everyone here does it. Nothing wrong with it. Again, how's a "conspiracy theorist" going to exploit psychological profiling? They're supposed to see patterns where none exist, which means whatever analytics they're doing would be ineffective. > This is an existential threat to the American public and to the world You haven't actually described anything that could be an "existential threat". Examples include: Nuclear war, a large asteroid, an incurable highly contagious disease, etc. You can only call him an "existential threat" if you believe America and the world will literally stop existing in 4-8 years. You did say it right after a comment about being appointed to a "national security" position. I imagine many people on HN get triggered by the phrase "national security", getting flashbacks to George Bush and the Patriot Act. If you think politicians have been abusing the term "national security" to push their bad policies, you should welcome the position being effectively removed from the President's advisory. Nothing you've presented is really bad, so I'm not really sure how to respond to the facts. People might be interested in Stefan Molyneux's "The Untruth about Steve Bannon" video[1], though. He's not as bad as people are making him out to be. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0aAVh0dJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0aAVh0dJc

tptacek 10y ago
His comment is rhetorically partisan, but you haven't come close to establishing with evidence that it's "alarmist". I'd direct your attention to Eliot Cohen's essay in The Atlantic from this morning: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clarifying-moment-in-american-history/514868/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clari... Cohen is no liberal; he cofounded PNAC and served as a deputy under Rice in the Bush administration. And his take on Trump's last week is even more urgent than the parent comment's. It is in fact not normal at all for the President's "chief strategist" --- an informal, non-confirmable role, created to house someone who stood a decent chance of washing out of Senate confirmation --- to replace the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence on the NSC PC. Someone watching this unfold dispassionately might be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that Bannon is there because he doesn't trust Trump alone in a room by himself with a bunch of actual adults; Trump is, as has been reported for over a decade, famously impressionable.

anjc 10y ago

This is a bizarre and inflammatory conspiracy theory in itself. A politician using an analytics firm that uses psychological profiling...welcome to the 20th century.

facetube 10y ago
I agree, but I believe it is well-sourced.
- anjc 10y ago
  My point is that corporations don't start product development for even a bar of candy without extensive market segmentation and psychological profiling. This is completely run of the mill stuff in this day and age, and you can be certain that every major party in the western world does the exact same thing. OP is presenting it as if it's an unusual affront to democracy. It's extremely disingenuous or extremely ignorant, I'm not sure which.
  - facetube 10y ago
    It is an unusual affront to democracy. Democracy depends upon a well-informaed public making rational decisions. It cannot and should not be gamed by for-profit "market makers" at the expense of the American taxpayer and the American people.
    - anjc 10y ago
      This is completely normal in politics and commerce. And regardless, he was elected in a fair vote. The end. If you run another election now he'll win again.
      - facetube 10y ago
        US intelligence officials have evidence of Russian disinformation and interference [1]. This is not normal. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ODNI_Statement_on_Declassified_Intelligence_Community_Assessment_of_Russian_Activities_and_Intentions_in_Recent_U.S._Elections.pdf&page=7 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:ODNI_Stateme...

jmcgough 10y ago

"Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach," Rogin reported, citing transition officials. He "is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe." [1] I find this terrifying, that an untested extremist is the one in charge of our entire foreign policy approach, and that his goal is greater militarization and igniting populism. Not going to invoke Godwin's Law, but I think the parallels are obvious. [1] http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-security-council-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-steve-bannon-national-s...

astronautjones 10y ago
Estamos jodidos

andreyf 10y ago

CNN also reports that Bannon feels free to over-rule DHS legal counsel on constitutionally questionable immigration actions as part of their PR strategy [1]. 1. http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-b...